Shaylee stuck her head out a slither of the window inhaling the crisp, warm air. They'd separated from the road around thirty-minutes back, and now they drove along a faded, dirt trail that weaved in between the trees of a forest. They'd been driving for six hours, and quite honestly they were exhausted. The trees were lush green, with dark cinnamon coloured tree trunks. Birds chirped and flew overhead, darting in between the trees. Her eyes followed the colourful birds, watching as they exited the woods and into a rather large clearing with mountains on the opposite side. 

She gasped, and that's the first time she saw it. A pearly white bricked castle, loomed in the distance with emerald green mountains peeking out from behind it. The castle walls were a purple-grey colour, contrasting elegantly with the pure coloured walls. The windows looked like a translucent grey from the distance, and her mouth fell open at the castle's beauty. "It's beautiful." Her voice came out barely a whisper. Ryder grinned at her through the rearview mirror, "It's better on the inside." He remarked, watching as her face lit up at the sight of it.

As she gazed at the castle in awe, a thought fluttered through her mind making her brows furrow. "What if a Quotidian finds this? Won't they see it?"

Ryder thought back for a moment, "No. Witches, Warlocks, even Vlarissa spelled the castle. Making it so any Quotidian who comes across it can't see it. If they find it they momentarily get confused, forget where they are, and what they were doing. They eventually wonder off, and forget that they were ever there." He pauses, "The castle has a lot of charms on it."

As they neared the exited the forest, and into the uneven ground of the clearing the castle looked as though it was being illuminated by the beaming sunlight. It honestly looked majestic. An uneasy feeling settled over her, as she remembered her purpose for being here. Would they know her motives? Would they be found out? Are the slaughtering's still going on? Sensing the uneasy tension, Ryder spoke up. "Look. We'll be fine. We only have to stay here for a few months." His grip on the steering wheel tightened, as they went over some ragged bumps. "We'll protect each other, okay?"

A small smile fluttered across her lips at his words, she'd began to fidget with her fingers. "Okay, we protect each other."

They'd made it across the clearing, with slight difficulty. Vlarissa's car wasn't really made to drive over rocks, and through the woods.

And as they drew closer, the uneasy feeling multiplied, fluttering around her stomach like poisonous butterflies. Shaylee noticed that the castle had a big, white, stone gate around it, which just made the majestic wonder look more daunting. Ryder halted to a stop, a few feet away from the entrance, and Shaylee took this moment to compose herself. She couldn't let them get caught, she had to stick to the plan. Ryder unbuckled his belt, turning in his seat to face her. "You ready?"

She internally scoffed at his words. Her answer, one word, one moment would change the course of history as they knew it. Fate would be re-written, could she tempt fate?

She exhaled softly, her head nodding feebly. "Ready."

Ryder shifted into a purple light, and in an instant he was at the boot, unlocking it. Shaylee steadied her breathing, placing her hand against her chest in attempts to calm herself. All her decisions from this point forward, changed everything. Shaylee unbuckled her belt, opened the car door and slid out of Vlarissa's grey coloured car. Ryder heaved both their suitcases and bags out of the boot, and plonked them on the ground. She grabbed her pair of purple coloured suitcases, and leather backpack, throwing the right strap of her shoulder. Ryder shut the boot, slinging a duffle bag over his shoulders and giving her a weak smile.

With the wheels of their suitcases clanking, and awkwardly rolling over the grass they neared the perfect white walls that shielded the castle. As Shaylee stood outside the gates, her eyes plastered above she drew in a long breath. The castle was more beautiful up close, it was grand, and made her feel small compared to the world. The bars of the gates were long, and deep ebony with a golden 'C' in the centre. A dark skinned man wisped out of nowhere, eyeing them suspiciously. The man was a shadower. "What do you want, why are you here?" The man pointed a spear at them.

Shaylee backed up a step, knocking into Ryder. Ryder took a step forward, "We're here for Titanus Cytheris."

The shadower's eyes narrowed, "Does he know of your appearance?"

"It's important." Ryder dismissed.

The man scoffed, and was about to wisp away when Shaylee spoke up. "I'm his daughter!" She blurted. The man's eyes widened, "I'm Shaylee Davey."

The man stiffened and bowed curtly, "Welcome home princess. I apologise for my rudeness." He stood back up, arms wound behind his back. "Please, come on in." At his words, white sparkles drifted around the bars of the gate, and then it slowly pulled open.

Shaylee gave him a soft smile, and awkwardly shuffled inside. "Thank you sir." She turned to Ryder, and tilted her head towards the castle doors. With his eyes fixated intently on the shadower, Ryder stepped inside following the pair as they walked across the lawn and ascended the stone stairs leading to the doors. The doors were a light brown, with silver circled handles, the shadower's fingers wrapped around the handle and he knocked it against the wood twice. At his command, the doors opened making bright, white light engulf her vision.

As she entered she internally squealed. The walls, and ceiling were white stone, with a golden chandelier hanging from the high ceiling. A long red carpet, like the one celebrities walked on, was stretched out from the door to the centre of the room. Shaylee's first thought was that Calador would freak out about how glamorous the castle was. But atlas, if he set foot anywhere near here... he wouldn't see another day. A stone staircase on the left side, led up to a platform and another staircase, it seemed to go on and on like an endless maze.

"King Titanus!" The shadower called, "Come quick!" A mere second later, thirteen people filed into the room from different areas of the castle.

Eleven of the thirteen stood on the outskirts of the red carpet in a line, arms wound behind their backs but eyes on the shadower. A tall man, with jet black greying hair, his eyes were grey and sunken. He wore the colours blue and silver as if they represented something. His head was held high, bearing a golden crown with red, blue, and silver jewels. The woman beside him was tall, she wore a poufy mint green dress, with her long, lightly curled, pure-diamond coloured hair swept over to her right shoulder. She had light green eyes, and a stern expression, lips pressed together in a thin line.

"What is the meaning of my summoning?" Titanus boomed, in a raspy voice. Shaylee stood behind the shadower, as if he was shielding her. Now that she was face to face with the firm expression of the halfblood killer, she felt as though she'd be sick. 

"It's her." The shadower breathed out in delight, "I-it's Shaylee!" Titanus' whole 'king' façade dropped in an instant, and behind his well kept tough exterior, lied one of a father, a man with raw emotions. His face contorted in shock, but above all sadness. "You better not be lying to me..." Her father's voice broke, as he looked into the shadower's eyes desperately.

"He's not." Shaylee stepped out from behind the shadower, her eyes meeting her father's grey ones for the first time. Her heart twanged with longing, oh how she longed to have a father again. But Titanus was not Paul, even if they turned out to have a beautiful relationship- he was still not Paul.

Titanus' mouth fell open in shock, tears pricking in his eyes. "I'm Shaylee Davey." In an instant her father did a mix of running, and hobbling towards her. Crashing her into a bone crushing hug, "It's really you!" He stroked her head full of red hair, happiness coursing through his body. "It's really you!" Titanus repeated, pulling away to look into her hazel eyes. He let out a relieved chuckle, crashing her into a hug again. "It really is my daughter."

As Shaylee's arms wrapped around his broad body tight, head resetting on her father's shoulder, her eyes locked with a pair of hazel ones from the line of supposed siblings she had. His expression was still, raven hair falling over the majority of his eyes. But his eyes wouldn't wrench away, they couldn't. An uneasy feeling returned to the pit of her stomach again. This was only just the beginning.